U.S. Commander in Korea to Speak at UT on Sept. 22

KNOXVILLE –- Gen. Burwell Bell, a four-star general who took command in Korea earlier this year, will speak at the University of Tennessee on Sept. 22.

Gen. Burwell Bell His talk, “Korea and the United States: Prosperity or Parting Ways?,” will be held at 2 p.m. in the University Center Auditorium. The free event is sponsored by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

Bell is a native of Oak Ridge and a 1969 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

As the U.S. military leader in Korea, Bell commands the U.S.-Republic of Korea Combined Forces Command, which is responsible for conducting defensive operations against North Korea should deterrence fail; the United Nations Command, which is responsible for maintaining the armistice signed in 1953 to end the Korean War; and the U.S. Forces, Korea, which is responsible for the readiness, training and welfare of all military service members and families assigned to the Korean peninsula.

Prior to his assignment in Korea, Bell commanded U.S. Army, Europe, from December 2002 to December 2005. From March 2004 to December 2005 he also commanded NATO’s Allied Land Component Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, where he formed, trained and deployed thousands of U.S. Army personnel to both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bell also has commanded the Army’s largest war fighting organization, Third Corps, headquartered in Fort Hood, Texas, and commanded the Army’s Armor Center in Fort Knox, Ky.

Bell has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the UTC and has served on the UTC Alumni Board. He began his military career in the ROTC at UTC. He has a master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California.

Bell is married to the former Kathleen Fields of Chattanooga. They have one grown son. The Baker Center, which opened in 2003, is a non-partisan center dedicated to creating a better understanding of government and fostering a greater appreciation for the importance of public service. The center offers programs for students, teachers and the public, and houses a collection of political papers.